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"The ability to be able to denounce more or less publicly the lack of freedom of speech & media freedom and that one lives under a dictatorship, is a proof that you neither live in a dictatorship, nor face a lack of freedom of speech."
That's one "captain obvious" worthy thing, that I keep telling to people who complain to be in a dictatorship and don't find themselves in troubles to have stated this (if that latter thing was to change, I'd be inclined to believe them). Countries I could think about which are under said reality: USA, UK, Italy and formerly France (until May 2012, after, well I'm rather in doubt). As for Hungary, I'm not really sure.

The fact i can denounce my Govt and not be lined up and shot or jailed until i cannot go to the toilet on my own is not proof we are not living in a dictatorship mate.

We live in a 2 party dictatorship where we have the illusion of choice. now i speak from experience...i cannot go and stand outside the houses of parliament and protest anything, let alone what i think of the scum who occupy our places of power. we have free speech zones...excuse me...i thought i was free to denounce my Govt, not be put somewhere where they wont see me protest. while protesting i also had the police going round taking pictures and trying to get my name...why do they need that info?

We in the UK also have secret courts where you are denied the right of defence, the right to have a lawyer and the right to a trial by your peers....don't believe me? go look up what happened to Roger Hayes who was withholding his council tax (as is his right to do) because the council couldn't tell him where his money was being spent.




Come to the UK and step out of line in the smallest way and we'll see how free you are!

It's easy for a nation to give freedom of speech if that speech can't make a change.
I'm thinking of the slap in the face we've been given a few years back with Obama's change campaign. That's a lie, all change's controlled and directed.

You'll think that because you're can say **Filtered** the Police you're free, but the Police'll laugh in you're face. Sting's like that.

I'm sure many protesters in real dictatorships would dream to have our kinds of "dictatorships". Because sure saying "**Filtered** this or that entity/person" won't change much, but in some countries it's not even a matter of the effects or lack of, of your words, it's just that if you say that, you can say goodbye to the sun! (end in some dark jail for who knows how long)
While Ron Paul in the USA and the guys from UKIP are being the provocative "antisystem" opponents, in other countries, well, if you speech against the regime, that's your fate:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/world ... -dies.html
Die in a car accident, fall from a window, die from an unknown illness and whatever other ways can be used as disguised murders.
You will tell me think about JFK and Martin Luther King, I am not blind about it. The fact is, in some countries, regardless of being a "false" or a "real" opponent, your fate is not very enviable.
I will not deny the fact France itself has been in a pretty much rampant dictatorship during the 80's, people who were "suicided", strange car accidents, fake/covered affairs, forced silence over the dark collaborative past of the president in office...

We might not have candidates who want to change the system, but at least we have the choice for different candidates, mind about these dictatorships, they have neither a chance to change the system nor to change the people ruling them! What do you mean anyway by changing the system? I will quote Winston Churchill on this "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all of those that have been tried from time to time". Same could be said for capitalism in economy...capitalism is flawed, but let's have a look at the other systems...suddenly one realizes at the size and level our societies headed to, there's no current proper-better alternative. One can "fix" capitalism by doing this or that change to better it, but it won't be really a change, just an improvement as a change you cannot find proper one. Which doesn't mean I don't give credits for those who plan(ned) to fix the system.

I will concede one thing though. In the USA, in the UK and in France over last couple decades, there was one "dictatorship" (hard to tell if it's really one thus the "") in place, Political Correctness/Unique Ideology originated from what I call "Neoconformism".

I remember watching a YT clip someone shot at school secretly. in the clip the teenager (don't how old he was but was defo a teen) was criticizing Obama for all the wars and bailouts and you can hear the teacher shouting at the kid that it was illegal to criticize the President...she obviously has never heard of the first Amendment to the US constitution.....


Not very free Jim.

[KMA]Avenger wrote:I remember watching a YT clip someone shot at school secretly. in the clip the teenager (don't how old he was but was defo a teen) was criticizing Obama for all the wars and bailouts and you can hear the teacher shouting at the kid that it was illegal to criticize the President...she obviously has never heard of the first Amendment to the US constitution.....


Not very free Jim.

The teacher said that. Teachers are often (ultra) politicized, that's why they say things like that. In this case she was probably fanatic-kind of democrat. If you followed courses in school/high school/university in France badmouthing the previous president would have probably (depending on the teacher) granted you 0.5 to 3 points more for the rest of the year (SLIGHTLY exaggerating but almost true). Since May 2012 criticizing current president, however, I think they would have more or less same answer as your example.

Claiming to be right-wing/criticizing left wing and unions in France in front of most teachers (not all, but many) as a student would be like screaming "I AM A PROUD COMMUNIST!" in the middle of a NRA reunion in Texas minus the risk to be shot!

Jim, just because people haven't yet been mass arrested for their opinions, don't mean it ain't gonna happen.

I can guarantee you that I am on some terrorist watch list or three, and I'm not a conspiracy theorist and the only political groups I belong to are the national and state open carry(gun rights) advocacy groups.

You're right, Pops, we have freedom of speech. We have the freedom to say things so long as Congress approves of those things we say. Otherwise we will be prosecuted, just like Wikileaks.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/07/w ... e-new-york

Well, we are now seeing why [the Wikileaks Grand Jury] is so important: at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on July 11th, some members of Congress made it clear they also want New York Times journalists charged under the Espionage Act for their recent stories on President Obama’s ‘Kill List’ and secret US cyberattacks against Iran. During the hearing, House Republicans “pressed legal experts Wednesday on whether it was possible to prosecute reporters for publishing classified information,” according to the Los Angeles Times.